Recipe
- 1.75oz cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
- .25oz gold rum (El Dorado 15)
- .5oz orange curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)
- .5oz pineapple juice
- 2 dashes orange bitters (combo of Regans’ and Angostura brands)
Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe glass.
About
“This drink is a great favorite with the English living in the different parts of East India.”
Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual (1888)
This is a boozy little number: the PDT bar’s adaption of the classic East India Cocktail, a drink dating all the way back to the late 1800s.
Back in the day it was common practice to name drinks after the places where they were imbibed, and supposedly this was a common sipper for the British inhabitants living in Asia during the 1800s (East India refers to the entire area around India and Southeast Asia that the British colonized, not just literally the eastern region of modern-day India).
Who else has a soft spot for historical recipes? Good or bad, I always have such satisfaction imagining the culture and lifestyles surrounding these drinks!